Ukraine’s Svitolina is refusing to play the Russian Potapova in Monterrey.
The Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina said she wouldn’t play in the Monterrey Open unless tennis’ governing bodies followed the recommendations made by the IOC.
Friday, the IOC said that Russian and Belarusian flags should not be shown at international sports events because Russia has invaded Ukraine. More: read more
The IOC executive board made more moves on Monday. Sports federations should not allow Russian or Belarusian athletes and officials to compete in events. Svitolina had already made her feelings known.
Ukrainian tennis players asked the ATP, WTA, and ITF to follow the IOC’s advice and only accept Russian or Belarusian athletes as neutral athletes, not with their flags or anthems.
MORE: England declares they will not play Russia due to Ukraine’s invasion.
For this reason, I will not play against Russian or Belarusian tennis players in Monterrey tomorrow or in any other match against them until our organizations make this critical choice.
On Monday, a group of Ukrainian women’s tennis players called for all tournaments held in Russia to be canceled after the country invaded Ukraine. Marta Kostyuk and Lesia Tsurenko were among them.
In response to Vladimir Putin’s declaration of war last week, athletes from Ukraine and other countries have asked international bodies to do something about it. They say that Russia has invaded the land, air, and sea since then.
Eric is a professional news editor, writer, and blogger for the last 10 years. He is working with NewsGater as an off-beat news editor cum writer.